How To Stay In Shape During Your Next Vacation

Everyone needs a vacation every now and then. A change of pace from your everyday routine is the perfect way to refresh your body and mind. Unfortunately, most people associate vacations with letting go. Whether it be excessively indulging in unhealthy foods or barely incorporating any movement into your vacation itinerary, holidays often end with people having gained some extra pounds. Thankfully, there are many easy ways to stay fit during your holiday without compromising on enjoyment. Here are four simple ways to do so:

Have a Holiday Routine

Since vacations are all about changing pace, why not change up your workout routine as well? Rather than eliminating working out from your schedule altogether, use your vacation time to try something new in terms of your fitness goals. For instance, your holiday could be the perfect time to start a kettlebell challenge. Alternatively, if there’s a part of your body that you’ve wanted to focus on but never really got around to doing so, use your free vacation mornings to condition this area. From ab challenges to pull-up challenges, there are hundreds of short and fun workouts you could incorporate into your holiday.

Plan an Active Vacation

Active vacations often end up being the most enjoyable, with memorable tales to take home. Although it may sound offbeat, planning a vacation around physical activities is actually quite common. For example, many people go on hiking trips; not only can hiking afford you some unforgettable vistas, it also keeps you in good shape.

If there’s an adventure sport you’ve been wanting to take up, try and plan your holiday around it. Adventure sports like scuba diving and surfing are perfect to learn on a beach holiday and are more strenuous than most people realize, ensuring that you keep fit. If you’re in the great outdoors, you can try something new like stand-up paddleboardingor kayaking. Especially for those who are adrenalin junkies, an active vacation can work as an agreeable balance between staying healthy and seeking some thrills.

Eat Right

From overeating to eating at irregular hours, it’s easy to get carried away in regards to food while holidaying. Supervising what and how much you eat can be tricky, especially when most of your meals are in a restaurant or hotel, as opposed to self-cooked. While you should definitely explore the local foodscape, try to make healthy choices while ordering. Choose whole-food options over preservative-laden food. Eat the way the locals do — more often than not, their daily diets would comprise of locally grown produce and grains, portioned to suit their every needs. Eating like the locals will give you valuable insight into their culture, while also satiating your appetite without resorting to mass-produced, chemical-heavy food.

Research your eating options prior to travel, so that you know if you need to carry any food items with you. It’s not a bad idea to carry vitamin supplements or protein powder along on your vacation, in case you find you aren’t able to get the nutrients you need from local cuisine. If you’re tired of your regular protein powder, you can use your holiday as an opportunity to try some new flavors. While you can’t control every aspect of your holiday eating, being prepared and making smart eating decisions will certainly help you keep off that unwanted holiday weight.

Drink Sensibly

People tend to drink more while vacationing, due to the celebratory and laidback attitudes that go hand-in-hand with vacations. Unfortunately, alcohol has been proven to be a source of calories, albeit a hidden one, with the the average American adult consuming 100 calories a day from beer, wine or other alcoholic beverages!

These numbers only increase when on holiday, so it’s advisable to be prudent about how much alcohol you are consuming through your vacation. While you don’t have to ban yourself from drinking altogether, try sticking to lower-calorie drinks. For instance, choose to drink a glass of champagne over a piña colada, which has added calories due to the excess sugar and and cream it contains. Just like with your food choices, make smart decisions when it comes to what and how much you choose to drink on holiday.

These four tips should help you stay in shape on your vacation. That being said, it’s important to not to overstress yourself when it comes to keeping fit while on holiday. After all, the point of any vacation is to take a step back and rejuvenate your body and mind — a goal that cannot be achieved if you are extremely paranoid about your exercise routine and diet. While you shouldn’t give up caring about your health completely when vacationing, be sure to enjoy and occasionally treat yourself in a way you might otherwise not in your daily routine. So go ahead and sweat, but don’t sweat it too much!